Yevgeny Savotchenko’s painting July 1943 is dedicated to one of the largest battles of the Great Patriotic War — the Battle of Kursk, which lasted from 5 July to 23 August 1943. As on his other battle canvases, the artist did not depict a battle scene. Instead, he painted a string of Soviet soldiers who go into the distance to the horizon. And in the foreground — a woman and a fighter who looks tired and exhausted. A bit further stands another soldier: obviously, he has been walking ahead and stopped to wait for his comrade.
July 1943
Creation period
1983
Dimensions
90x116 cm
Technique
oil on canvas
Collection
Exhibition
1
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Yevgeny Savotchenko
July 1943
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Yevgeny Savotchenko executed this painting in dark colours: ochrish-yellow, brown, dark red. They resemble the glare of a fire or the dim glow of red-hot hot metal. With this colour scheme, the author conveyed the tension and anxiety of wartime. The crimson sky occupies almost the entire background of the canvas. The figures of people moving into the distance seem very tiny against its background, and the houses on the left side of the picture are barely distinguishable and seem to merge with the ground.
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Yevgeny Savotchenko. Tomorrow Will Bring a War. Saturday, 21 June 1941, 2014.
Yevgeny Savotchenko was born in the Donetsk region in 1932. His childhood coincided with the war years. The artist often transferred his impressions of that time to canvas, but rarely painted battle scenes. More often he portrayed the war through the eyes of civilians — children and adults. For example, in the picture Tomorrow Will Bring a War. Saturday, 21 June 1941 Savotchenko created an ordinary rural landscape. However, he chose a dark and oppressive colour scheme, against which the red-orange sunset gleams look ominous and dangerous, like a fire.
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In 1958, Yevgeny Savotchenko moved to Belgorod. There he became the first director of the Battle of Kursk Museum Diorama, which opened in 1987. In addition to works on military themes, Savotchenko painted still-lifes, portraits, landscapes, and genre paintings. He paid a lot of attention to events that were associated with the history of Belgorod.
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While working on historical paintings, Yevgeny Savotchenko studied materials related to past events. While painting Prince Igor Meets with His Brother Vsevolod in Kholki, he visited the place where the ancient Russian fortress had stood; now the place is occupied by a monastery. There, according to legend, the princes met ahead of their campaign against the Polovtsians.
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Yevgeny Savotchenko. Prince Igor Meets with His Brother Vsevolod in Kholki. 1993–1995.
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Belgorod State Museum of Fine Arts
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July 1943
Creation period
1983
Dimensions
90x116 cm
Technique
oil on canvas
Collection
Exhibition
1
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